Allen Edmonds is well on the way to becoming a global brand. We’ve had significant sales in Europe for a generation, and our recent agreement with a Chinese partner to open Allen Edmonds stores in China – bringing our “Made in USA” products there in a reversal of decades-long trends – has the potential to double our sales and our international awareness over the next several years. Still, we’re a relatively small private company. The trappings of global “brandhood” remain out of our reach: like having a major sports stadium carry our name, for example. So, when my hockey-crazed and great-guy brother-in-law jokingly asked if AE wanted to “sponsor” his backyard ice rink, where he’s immersing his 5-year old son in the rich traditions of Minnesota hockey, I jumped at the chance.

Tongue firmly planted in cheek, attached are cellphone pictures of “Allen Edmonds Arena”, our first major sports sponsorship. The NHL will take note, I’m sure. (We’ll have their people call our people.) It took two dairy-truckloads of water to fill in the homemade boards, cover the encroaching tree roots and create the 25’X40’ sheet of ice. Allen Edmonds Arena is a serious sports venue, let me tell you. Several of our AE employees have offered to drive the Zamboni, should my brother-in-law ever get one. And, as you might suspect, my nephew leads the league in scoring (‘cause my soft-hearted sister is a sieve in goal for her son; in co-ed broomball she’s a veritable Patrick Roy).

The Christmas garland surrounding the Allen Edmonds banner and the wreath next to it offer a fitting “Winter Wonderland” scene for this chance to wish all of our loyal Allen Edmonds supporters and customers -- especially the half a handful of you who read this blog -- a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday Festivities of all kinds, and much good health and happiness in 2012!!

Peace to you and yours,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

A couple weeks ago, we enjoyed an afternoon visit to Port Washington from Mike Allen, the great grandson of Allen Edmonds’ founder, Elbert Allen, and therefore also the grandson and son of Bert and Boyd, the next two generations of family leadership. After Mike toured our manufacturing facility with Jim Kass, our Head of Operations, we all enjoyed a great conversation about the intertwined history of his family and the company. Mike brought in a couple photos from back in the late 1950s -- including the Christmas Card (pictured below) of Boyd, Mrs. Allen and the kids with their AE shoes kicked up on the fireplace wall for all to see. Absolutely priceless.

On his tour, I think Mike was pleasantly surprised at how little the manufacturing process has changed. Yes, we’re more efficient based on our volumes and some workflow engineering, but we still manufacture all of our shoes by hand in the same 212 steps that have been the basis for handcrafting Allen Edmonds shoes since the beginning in 1922. (For more information on how we make our shoes, take a look at our newly designed website, http://www.allenedmonds.com/ and click on the “Craftsmanship” tab). And now we employ over 750 people in our company, most of whom work in Port Washington, just 8 miles from the town of Belgium where Elbert Allen first stated.

Building on the Allen Family legacy, I am pleased to announce the Third Annual Allen Edmonds “Rediscover America” Customer Appreciation Event (aka our Big Fall Sale), which runs September 26th through Columbus Day, October 11th. In addition to saying thank you to those whose loyalty has carried us since 1922, we’re celebrating all American manufacturing and workers, and the quality, craftsmanship, style and service that “Made in USA” has always meant to AE customers at home and abroad. During the sale, our products will be offered at least at 14.92% off (Columbus, you know) in all of our own retail stores, on our website, and through 400 participating Allen Edmonds dealers nationwide. A select list of 12 of our most popular styles of shoes and some accessories will be offered at much bigger savings, too.

Ok, enough plugging and bold font… At the end of our time with Mike, I mentioned that since January 2010 we’ve added over 120 jobs right here at our manufacturing facility in Port Washington. Mike said his great grandfather would be proud. His smile spoke volumes about the Allen family and our work. It makes me especially proud of all of my colleagues, whose dedication and commitment to great American ideals are leading this great company to new heights today.

As always, thank you for your support of Allen Edmonds, and of American manufacturing. It’s because of you that we have been able to continue to create jobs right here, about a snowball’s throw from where Elbert Allen first started in 1922.

Best Wishes,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

My parents grew up through the Great Depression and learned a lot of hard lessons about the value of a steady job. Both of my grandfathers worked for country banks that were wiped out in the banking crisis, and so were their personal finances. My mother’s keepsake silver dollar, minted in her birth year of 1922, was finally needed in 1934 to buy bread for the family, bringing real life experience to the phrase “down to our last dollar.” My dad worked his way through college in North Dakota in the late 1930s, moved to Minneapolis after graduation without a dime in his pocket and, except for his service in WWII, worked for the same company for his entire career.

During the prosperity of the late 1990s, many Americans adopted a “free agent” attitude about their jobs. It was a heady time when “business casual” evolved to where guys dressed literally in running shoes for a quick escape out of the office. In venture capital hotspots, there was constant hopping from one start-up to another, and it seemed those opportunities would never dry up.

Fast forward to 2011 and a stubbornly persistent unemployment rate over 9%. Men’s attire has become more serious and that includes the shoes that they wear both to work and on weekends. This trend has been good for business growth at Allen Edmonds. For me and our leadership team here, the most gratifying part of that growth is the expanded employment that we’ve been able to offer to our community.

We’ve added over 120 new hires in Port Washington, WI since 2010. Many of them had been laid off from other jobs several months or even a couple years before joining us. It’s great to talk to them, see how much they value their jobs and hear about their plans for their families that now are realistic again. And, man, do they take their work seriously, which shows up in the quality of our shoes and our customer service. Nobody’s perfect, but the effort they expend to get as close as possible to perfection is truly inspirational.

On this Labor Day 2011, here’s a special toast to U.S. employees, to U.S. employers, to U.S. jobs, and to never taking any of them for granted.

Best Wishes,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

We have a strong culture among our employees at Allen Edmonds. We work very hard together in common pursuit, and there’s a lot of good natured fun and camaraderie along the way. Those who think work is a stifling place, where people become only vaguely acquainted and cordon off their personal lives, just wouldn’t understand our shop.

I’m blessed with a truly exceptional team, as evidenced by much of what you see in the marketplace, in our products and in our customer service. You can also read it in the newspaper: the Milwaukee Business Journal just named our lovable Senior Vice President and CFO, Jay Schauer, “CFO of the Year” this August. Jay is completely deserving of the honor. He not only tracks every number with a keen CFO skill set, he also has excellent business acumen and knows all about shoe production, Allen Edmonds’ history, our strengths and challenges and our customers. We wouldn’t be where we are today without Jay’s outstanding work and guidance.

August was a big month for Jay. It started with the CFO of the Year award, and ended with a much-anticipated golf outing. Jay hadn’t nearly as much golf experience as the others included in the group. He was a bit nervous about playing a top ranked course with this group, so he took a couple lessons and practiced consistently during the summer. The work paid off as he laced his drive—ok, it was his third drive -- big down the middle on the first hole. The rest of the round, Jay took what I call the “Johnny Miller Philosophy for Businessmen’s Golf” to a higher level than I’d ever seen before.

During a conference years ago, I heard Johnny Miller say that he sees so many amateurs with families and full-time jobs take the game as seriously as PGA Tour players who practice hours a day and have pro golfer talent. We curse ourselves when we hit bad shots and then angrily say, “It’s about time!” when we hit a good shot. Johnny suggested that we have it all wrong -- we should accept bad shots as inevitable in our crammed lives, and say, “All right! Hooray for me!” when the ball ends up where we wanted it to go. As someone whose game took a drastic turn southward a number of years ago, I’ve been trying to heed Johnny’s advice… but it’s easier said than done.

Jay, by contrast, would make Johnny proud. Sure, Jay had his bloopers, but he remained just plain thrilled to be out there. His attitude was really fun and infectious. Then there was his “Hooray for me!” The first time Jay’s foursome came to the Par 3 Seventeenth, the others missed the postage stamp green while Jay hit it to four feet and, after stepping away to slow his racing heart, MADE THE PUTT! The next time around the course, Jay flew that green (maybe too much adrenaline after his earlier birdie?) and had a tough lie. He chopped it out of the gorse and incredibly HIT THE PIN! The ball dropped within gimme distance. Jay whooped and hollered so loud he could be heard in the adjoining State. I was on the 16th green in the second group at the time and we thought he had either just won the lottery or else was trying to start a buffalo stampede. At the post-round lunch, Jay declared himself good-naturedly, “King of Seventeen”. We’ll never forget it (and Jay will make sure we don’t).

Congratulations, Jay! “King of Seventeen” and “CFO of the Year” all at once… Nice month!



Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Allen Edmonds is a bipartisan company – we’re supported by loyal customers of both red and blue stripes. In the last year, we’ve also been supported significantly by Wisconsin Governors of both parties and their administrations.

Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, visited our plant in October 2010 to announce a low interest development loan to help finance the growth of our Port Washington plant and employment base. In these times of persistent economic uncertainty and gyrating consumer spending, the financial aid helped us have the confidence to invest in a strategic plant expansion and additional employees. The loan was not officially approved, however, until early 2011, after Republican Gov. Scott Walker took office. Fortunately for the over 100 new hires we’ve added in our plant this year, the transition went seamlessly for us.

Paul Jadin, the new Secretary of Commerce, and his wife Jane visited our plant this summer to see what we’re doing with the aid and also learn more about our operation. It’s clear that Sec. Jadin is a solid choice for this key role. There’s a great manufacturing heritage in Wisconsin and it needs to be vigilantly maintained. I was impressed by both the Secretary’s and his wife’s intense interest in what we do and in how we do it here at Allen Edmonds. Like so many other Wisconsinites, he has been a longtime AE Man.

Since at least 1980, every Republican and Democrat U.S. President has worn Allen Edmonds. We’re deeply honored and grateful to have such fantastic bipartisan support across the nation and in our home state – presidents, congressmen, governors, cabinet members, Republicans, Democrats – AE customers all.

Thank you for your support of this almost 90 year old American employer.

Best wishes,



Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Most guys I know have a so-called “bucket list” – the special things they want to do before kicking the bucket. I’ve got mine in my head and I keep it updated. As a big baseball fan, one thing on my list since its first edition has been to attend an All Star Game. I finally had the chance this summer in Phoenix as a guest of our good friends at Major League Baseball. They invited my son to join me as well, and they invited Allen Edmonds to award a pair of shoes to each All Star just before he made his way to the annual Parade before the game. Colin Hall (our SVP of marketing and international business) and Tom Kroepel and Nina Ward from our Phoenix store helped meet the players, fit their feet and award the shoes. It was a ton of fun to see the players (or in many cases their wives) pick out shoe styles from the more fashionable Strawfut (brown calf & Linen), to the recently introduced and trendy McTavish, to the uniquely casual baseball stitched shoe called the Infield.

The players were incredibly gracious and down-to-earth. I had an especially nice conversation with Curtis Granderson, the Yankee centerfielder, who told me that TV makes him look faster than he really is. (What a year he’s having!) I also had the chance to thank the Minnesota Twins’ Michael Cuddyer for his constant commitment to community service – he’s an exemplary guy on and off the field, as was again evident by his classy response to me. Without their caps and uniforms, however, it was hard to tell who many of the other players were. David Ortiz and Prince Fielder were easy to spot, but there were several I didn’t know. One unassuming guy had a friendly conversation with us but I still had no clue who he was. As he filled out a form so we could send the shoes in the right size to his him, I craned to see that he was writing… “C-L-I-F-F—L-E-E”.

My 15 year old son, Blake, had a memorable time, thanks especially to Howard Smith, Greg Sim and Mychal Bogee, our gracious MLB hosts. Howard asked Blake if he played ball (the answer is yes, the kid’s got a promising slider) and then presented Blake with the official All Star Game Oakley sunglasses, which really lit up Blake’s face. Greg and Mychal took us to Chase Field at 7 am on the morning of the Game, where we joined a group of other MLB licensees for a tour of the clubhouse and then headed out onto the field to shag flies, field grounders and take some BP – all off of Diamondback coaches. Blake hammered his first BP pitch into the outfield, breaking a batting slump he felt he was in this summer. (Back home, he would go on to hit a double to the wall and a three run triple in his last two at-bats of the season, so the All Star Game was transformational.) It’s hard to pick Blake’s biggest highlight of the trip, but this one might be it… While I was handing out shoes to players, Greg Sim took Blake over to where his favorite All Star Tim Lincecum was sitting and introduced Blake to him. Greg reported that they seemed equally shy for words – Blake: “You throw really good pitches.” Tim: “Thanks, I try." Yes he sure does.

It was a great couple of bucket list days.

Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Winter in my hometown usually drags on and on, often with a final hammerblow in the form of a “Basketball Tournament Blizzard” that pushes us beyond tolerance and even sanity, giving a more literal meaning to “March Madness.”

Spring Fever has been an acute annual affliction for me; I can’t wait to get outside onto green grass. I played a lot of family golf growing up in Minnesota as my dad, who had learned the game himself as a kid out on the prairie, put Grandpa’s hickory-shafted “Lawson Little Signature” niblick in my hands at about age 6. Hitting wiffle balls in the backyard hooked me deep, and for life, on the world’s most humbling hobby. So, Spring each year starts vicariously up here: watching the Masters on TV with the gorgeous explosion of brightly-colored azaleas and perfect greens, and hearing Jim Nantz and lately Nick Faldo (or in the old days, Pat Summeral and Ken Venturi ) rhapsodize about the “tradition unlike any other.”

This year, the experience wasn’t so vicarious. While the home temperatures were still struggling to crack 40, I was lucky to be at Augusta for the tournament with my friend and colleague Colin Hall, our Head of Marketing and International Business at Allen Edmonds, who also happens to be quite a good photographer (something I didn’t know).

The Masters was especially great for us, and not just because of the exciting finish. Colin and I had a chance to greet our golf spokesman Ben Crenshaw and his caddy Carl Jackson, both of whom were sporting our new golf shoes.

Ben wore the REDAN and Carl the spikeless LINKS. It was Carl’s 50th Masters, so we personalized his shoes with “50th” in Augusta green on the side. We have a perfect connection with Ben Crenshaw and, having met Carl and read about him in Sports Illustrated’s Masters edition, with him, too. They’re classy gentlemen who respect people, the game, its history and its traditions and who have made their own significant contributions in their impressive careers. We couldn’t be prouder of the association at Allen Edmonds.

While this year’s event will be remembered for the back-nine charge Tiger didn’t make while future star Rory McIlroy was suffering character-building misfortune off the tee at 10, Colin and I enjoyed a memorable sidebar coincidence. Last summer, the Western Amateur Tournament was held at Colin’s club in Chicago. The winner was a collegian named David Chung, who also came in second at the U.S. Amateur and qualified to play in the Masters. After Mr. Chung’s quarter final victory (3 extra holes) at the Western, he greeted Colin’s ten year old son greenside and gave him the winning ball. As you can imagine, this gesture was a pretty big deal in the Hall household. At Augusta, we bumped into David’s mother at the 10th tee of a practice round and had a nice conversation in which Colin complimented her on her David’s graciousness, which clearly gave her some motherly pride. Then we watched him – with his (estimating) 5’5”, 130 pound frame – bomb the ball past the pros on both 10 and 11. Wow. When we got back to our Blackberries that evening, I emailed my daughter (who goes to the same school) to ask if she knows David Chung. Here’s her response: “I DO know David Chung!! Quite well, actually! I met him last year in our dorm and he would always call me Annika Sorenstam. That is amazing that he went to the Masters!! So cool!” Small world.

Below are some of Colin’s best photos from the practice rounds, which is when they allow patrons to take pictures. Given that sports figures have a big impact on fashion trends on and off the field of play, we all can plan on white shoes, white belts and white pants making a huge comeback in menswear. We can also expect to see more and more brown and white spectator shoes with classic brogue patterns. After so many years of black shoes (made of uncertain leathers), black pants and dark colored shirts, it’s nice to see the change.

Happy Spring and let’s all hit ‘em straighter this year!



Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

In January, I had the privilege of speaking at the Milwaukee Biztimes’ Economic Forum. I knew little about the event when I said yes to it, but I somehow assumed it would be a panel discussion in front of a small group, involving mostly off-the-cuff Q&A and little preparation. So, I was a caught off guard when the Senior Editor called three days before to give me some last-minute coaching and make sure that my “speech” would be “no longer than 15 minutes for sure, and 12 would be better.”

“Speech?” I asked. “What am I speaking about?” He replied that they had me down for two topics: “How to Revive American Manufacturing” and “The Future of Retailing.” (Oh, I thought, is that all? Why not throw in Health Care Reform, too?) Then he added, “Go ahead at the end and talk about men’s fashion trends if you want. There’ll be a lot of men there who’ll want to hear about that… but, remember, 15 minutes max, 12 is better and no Allen Edmonds commercial.” “Got it. How many people are you expecting?” “Over 600 -- it’s sold out. Congressman Paul Ryan is kicking it off talking about fiscal discipline in Washington, and he’s a big draw. As the head of the House Budget Committee, people want to hear what he has to say about what’s going on.” Indeed.

Well, I got some slides ready and showed up. It was actually pretty fun to do. My comments about the two BIG topics needed to be pretty broad-brush, but the audience seemed interested. They definitely perked up more, though, when the Men’s Fashion Trends Slide went up. People started talking at their tables and, when I cracked a couple of one-liners, I got way more reaction than I expected. I noticed immediately that the sudden buzz had a disproportionate number of female voices in it. When I made this point -- “Brown is the ‘new black’ in men’s serious business shoes. You can definitely wear brown now with a classic blue or charcoal grey suit to any important meeting … unless you wear bad shoes, then stick to black because brown shows off how really cheap that leather is.” – the hearty laughter seemed 70% female, which maybe confirms again that women definitely do judge men’s shoes… and a lot of guys get failing grades.

This time of year is good for discussing Men’s StyleTrends. Warmer weather gives us more options, which can be a double-edged sword if we wander too far off-base. It’s also a good time because our team has just finished doing trade shows across the U.S. and in Europe, and we have an up-to-date sense of what’s going on out there. Here’s the slide from the presentation, filled in with the comments and edited to incorporate some impressions after the shows.

Quick Primer of Men's Style trends

-What's Hot: Classic American Styling, authentic American heritage brands (i.e. pre-WWII), long-lasting quality, sensible values, fewer luxury splurges, i.e. Mad Men attire. This "new normal" era means more classic sensibilities and made in USA is big across the globe (even bigger in Asia).

-Brown is the "new black" in high quality leather shoes for the office (but not in those low quality "hide-of-the-Nauga" shoes where brown looks especially plastic). Suede is great now all year long, for both dress and casual wear in all different kinds of dress and casual shoes.

-Brogues (wingtips or captoes with perforated designs) are really big. Tasteful leather shoes are the right thing for weekends (men aren't wearing last year's running shoes with their jeans anymore). Brogues can also be made of saddle leather types and thicker soles that give them a rougher look.

-Stylish vests work in place of sport coats at the office or social events. French cuff shirts with personal-connection cufflinks are back in the office and with upscale weekend wear (cufflinks reflect the man's individuality with hobby or city themes).

-Tasteful plaid ties or Brooks Brothers' rep-stripes are preferred again over $150 patterns depicting aristocratic equine paraphernalia.

-Leather is displacing ballistic nylon in briefcases, duffel bags and rolling carry-ons. After 20 years of never using their bags for cover in a gunfight, I guess men feel safe switching back to classic and natural materials.

-College baseball caps in winter have been displaced by Stormy Kromer or Scottish caps and Indy Jones hats.

-Moderate-length leather coats (longer than aviator cuts) will make a comeback in fall 2011.

P.S. I asked a colleague for input on the above list. His comments are so good, I thought I’d quote them here…
From Brett Klein, our wholesale salesman in New York City who has great fashion sense…

Men are really caring and taking pride in how they look and dress again. Not just dressing up for the office (which we all know has been more important over the last couple years), but it’s clear how much effort men are putting into their casual looks. Across the country (and clearly evident in and around NYC) at first glance a guy may look like a modern day lumberjack to some degree, but it’s clear how crafted and put together his outfit is. Every item speaks to heritage, quality, made in the USA. Most of it is brand new out of the box or off the hanger, but it has a vintage look and feel and is clearly authentic.

Your first few bullet points on shoe trends, plus my above paragraph bring something else to mind regarding our specific new product (Elgin, McTavish, etc): The trends are clearly classic, the consumer wants authentic American brands, men are putting more effort into dressing, and classic dress looks are being worn in a way that they haven’t in modern times. All of these things allow us (at Allen Edmonds) to take some liberties and have some fun with our new SP11 and FL11 designs, creating new looks with our classic patterns, but having the freedom and opportunity to reinterpret them in a manner we haven’t previously with new casual leathers/materials, contrast stitching, raw and natural finishes on leather and soles, etc. Shoes are really fun again in a way they haven’t been for awhile.


Best wishes,


Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

“It’s great to work with pros!” is one of my favorite sayings these days. Normally when I use it, I’m referring to a solid idea or insight from one of our experts at Allen Edmonds. We’ve assembled quite a team of key people across our company – insiders with career-long experience in shoe design, shoemaking, leathers, Recrafting®, sizing and fitting, shoe sales, finance and systems. And to these we’ve added some relative newcomers with career-long outside experience in marketing, retail management, wholesale management, international markets, quality assurance, recruiting and smart men’s business and casual fashions from head-to-foot. They’re an outstanding group of first class people in every sense of the term.

Lately, though, the saying applies more literally – It’s great to work with golf pros! We just introduced our new line of golf shoes -- called the “Honors Collection” -- at the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. Ben Crenshaw is our spokesman for our line. Not only is Ben a Hall of Fame golfer, victorious Ryder Cup Captain and two-time Masters Champion, he’s also a first class guy who is generally regarded as one of the foremost experts on golf history and tradition. He also has designed some highly-ranked, classic-inspired golf course around the country. We’re truly honored to have Ben represent our Honors Collection.

At the PGA Show the “buzz” around our booth was palpable. We were asked to do live interviews on ESPN radio, we talked to golf magazine editors and, at their request, we supplied samples to a TV crew doing a feature on golf fashion. Our booth was full for three days straight. We met pros from many of the best courses from coast-to-coast. Many told us of the gap they see in the market for the classic, 360 degree welted golf shoe – the kind of shoe serious golfers have worn for years and years. The whole line was given thumbs up reviews with the shark-skin REDAN and the DOUBLE EAGLE being the most jaw dropping. The innovative DOUBLE EAGLE shoe offers the feel, stability and support of a classic golf shoe when you swing and the comfort of a breathable running shoe mesh when you walk 4+ miles on a hot day. By the way, the whole line is available for Recrafting® which, for golf, we’re calling our “Mulligan Service.”

I was especially impressed by how many of these pros knew our Allen Edmonds history in the golfing business. In the days before surlyn-covered balls, we made the shoes that one of the greatest legends of all time wore exclusively, on and off the course. Now we’re back in the business and some touring pros have already called to ask us to fit them.

Several of us at the company are life-long golfers ourselves, so this is more and more fun all the time. Check out our video at www.allenedmonds.com/golf and see what I mean. It really is good to work with pros.

Hit ‘em straight!



Paul D. Grangaard
President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation